Marine Corps dog and trainer retire together

Wednesday

Mar 26, 2014 at 12:01 AM

The two were deployed in Afghanistan together.

By Laura MooreCommunity@StarNewsOnline.com

The camaraderie among military members is a special bond, a unique brotherhood of veterans that transcends the branches of the armed forces and sometimes, even species.That is the case with the Marine Corps veteran Sonny, a Labrador retriever specially trained to detect improvised explosive devices, and his trainer, Marine Corps veteran Staff Sgt. David Nilson.The two were deployed in Afghanistan together. Now they are enjoying their retirement in Wilmington together.Nilson, a combat engineer for the Marines, was given a secondary job of overseeing the training center in Jackson Springs, where he ensured the daily training and exercising of combat service dogs. That is where Sonny and David were initially paired.According to Nilson, the Marines match trainers to the dogs by personality. Sonny, like Nilson, is relaxed and not too aggressive, and the two were able to bond and train well together.The military uses the service dogs as a “secondary tool to identify risk, and maintained as tools while they are there,” Nilson said. “But they are our dogs. We have a sense of pride and ownership of them and their job was their playtime.”Since the dogs age out at 7 years old, Sonny was ready to retire. Most retired military dogs end up in another Department of Defense role, and only a few are adopted out. Luckily for Nilson, after 13 years of service, and having returned home from Afghanistan, the timing was right for him to reunite with Sonny.“I am extremely lucky,” Nilson said. “It is a rarity that I got Sonny back in my life again.”Nilson explains that together, they are bridging the gap from war to home.“The culture shock and the reality of coming back and forth, it affects people differently. With all the casualties and explosions, and all the other R-rated stuff that goes on over there, it is good to fall back on each other,” Nilson said. “It’s a team effort – that’s how we operated over there. It’s the brotherhood of being a Marine.”Together, they are adjusting to civilian life back in the states. Nilson, a Cape Fear Community College student, is able to share Sonny with those in the Veteran’s Affairs Office at CFCC and has become a welcome addition.“It is a joy to have Sonny come in here, and I think it is shared by everyone here. We honor the service of all vets, even service dogs,” said Bob Philpott, CFCC Veteran’s Affairs coordinator. “And Sonny is such a sweet and loving dog. He visits with all the other vets and you can just see the calmness that comes over them.”According to Philpott, the unconditional love of Sonny has touched many of the veterans who visit the center, some of whom owe their lives and the lives of their friends to the work of combat service dogs.“I’d like to see more of this. Veterans are our best students and they’re crazy about these dogs,” Philpott said. “From my perspective, ‘Welcome home, Sonny!’ ”When they’re not at CFCC, Nilson says Sonny enjoys “the life of a dog, spending time lounging and at the dog park.”Sonny is “a model dog citizen of society here in Wilmington,” Nilson said, adding that he hopes “all this publicity doesn’t go to his head and he doesn’t go all Hollywood on me.”